1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of land vehicles, and to the particular field of accessories for land vehicles.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The dangers associated with leaving children, elderly adults, and pets in a parked vehicle have been well documented. The fact that the temperature inside a vehicle parked in the sun rapidly increases to frighteningly high levels has also been well documented. These heat levels frequently exceed levels that are considered to be dangerous to living beings.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system that protects people and animals in a vehicle from overheating.
While the art contains disclosures of various alarm systems, these systems have several drawbacks.
For example, even if a person""s presence is detected and an alarm activated, it may be several minutes before help arrives. In some cases, a delay of several minutes can be very undesirable. This is especially true if the vehicle is in a remote location. In fact, if the location is sufficiently remote, and the alarm system consists merely of sounding the vehicle""s horn, it is possible that no one will hear the alarm.
Therefore, there is a need for a system which not only detects the presence of an occupant in a vehicle, but also alerts help in a manner which permits expeditious rescue.
More specifically, there is a need for a system which not only detects the presence of an occupant in a vehicle, but also alerts help in a manner which permits expeditious rescue even if help is initially far remote from the vehicle.
Still further, if the vehicle is in a remote location, help in the form of a rescue squad may have difficulty in even finding the vehicle.
Therefore, there is need for a system which not only detects the presence of an occupant in a vehicle but also is capable of guiding that help to the vehicle.
In some cases, potential rescuers are distracted or inattentive. Thus, a simple alarm may go unnoticed.
Therefore, there is a need for a system which emits various alarm signals when an occupant is detected in a parked vehicle and the vehicle is not running.
Still further, even if help arrives in an expeditious manner, while help is on the way the occupant inside the vehicle is subject to extreme and often rising temperatures. This can be undesirable.
Therefore, there is a need for a system which protects an occupant of a parked vehicle from the effects of the hot interior while awaiting rescue.
Still further, even once help arrives, if the vehicle is locked, the help must break into the vehicle to rescue the occupant. Not only is this time-consuming, it will damage the vehicle. If a vehicle is locked, some occupants such as children or some elderly people, cannot escape from an overheated vehicle. However, some occupants may have sufficient manual dexterity to exit a vehicle if the vehicle is unlocked, but may not know how to unlock the vehicle or may become panicked or disoriented in a manner which will not allow them to be able to unlock the vehicle, but which will allow them to exit from an unlocked vehicle.
Therefore, there is a need for a system which will not only detect the presence of an occupant in a non-running vehicle, but which also will automatically unlock the vehicle.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants in the vehicle from overheating in a parked vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants from overheating in a parked vehicle by detecting the presence of such occupants.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants from overheating in a parked vehicle and automatically activating a cooling system inside the vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants from overheating in a parked vehicle and automatically activating an alarm system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants from overheating in a parked vehicle and automatically activating a multi-level alarm system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants from overheating in a parked vehicle by activating a signaling system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants from overheating in a parked vehicle and guiding help to the vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system for a land vehicle which protects occupants from overheating in a parked vehicle and automatically unlocking the vehicle.
These, and other, objects are achieved by an automobile monitoring system which comprises a control unit which includes a signal receiver; a power source; the control unit being operationally connected to an engine control system of a land vehicle to be activated when the engine is turned off, the control unit being connected to the power source; a plurality of sensors located inside the vehicle; the sensors of the plurality of sensors being connected to the power supply via the control unit when the engine of the vehicle is turned off; a cooling system in the vehicle including a fluid cooling unit electrically connected to the power source and to each of the sensors of the plurality of sensors via the control unit to be activated when any sensor of the plurality of sensors detects a condition associated therewith, a fluid mover fluidically and electrically connected to the cooling unit to be activated when the fluid cooling unit is activated, a plurality of fluid conduits fluidically connected to the fluid mover and being located in the vehicle; an alarm system electrically connected to the control unit and via the control unit to each of the sensors of the plurality of sensors to be activated when a signal from a sensor is received by the control unit; the vehicle having an automatic door and storage area-locking system; and an electrical connection between the automatic door and storage area-locking system of the vehicle and the control unit, the control unit including a control circuit which causes the automatic door and storage area-locking system of the vehicle to unlock the doors and storage area of the vehicle when a signal is received by the control unit from a sensor of the plurality of sensors.
The system of the present invention thus automatically detects the presence of an occupant in a vehicle after the vehicle has been turned off. Upon detecting the presence of an occupant under such conditions, the system of the present invention automatically activates an alarm, unlocks the doors and storage areas of the vehicle and then activates a cooling system that will keep the occupant cool until help arrives. The system can also guide help to the vehicle if necessary. Once the help arrives, it would be a simple matter to remove the occupant since the doors and storage areas of the vehicle are open. Thus, an occupant left in a parked vehicle will be rescued before being harmed, and if the rescue is not immediate, that occupant will not be subjected to an unduly high temperature because the temperature in the vehicle will be moderated by the cooling system.